Council awards $2.5 million Simmons Street parking-lot and streetscape project, includes EV-charger option

The Galesburg City Council unanimously approved awarding the Simmons Street parking-lot and streetscape project to Gunther Construction, a division of UCM Inc., with staff recommending the base bid plus four alternates for a total of $2,502,000.

City staff told the council the city received a $2.1 million Rebuild Downtown and Main Street grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity that will cover the bulk of the work. "Staff is recommending approval of the base bid plus the 4 alternate options and the total amount of 2,502,000 from Gunther Construction," the staff presenter said during the meeting.

The project covers Simmons Street between Prairie and Kellogg and follows an earlier June bid that came in about $3.1 million; staff and consultants revised specifications and removed a canopy to lower costs before rebidding. The presenter said Gunther submitted the lowest responsive bid at about $2.341 million and that the awarded total includes selected alternates.

Council members asked about electric-vehicle infrastructure included as an alternate. "With regard to the EV chargers do you happen to know if any of them will be the turbo charge EV chargers?" one council member asked. Staff replied that the turbo (higher-capacity) chargers likely exceed the current project budget but that the selected chargers are designed to be adaptive for multiple vehicle types. The EV-charger alternate was described as largely covered by the grant.

The council approved the award on a 6-0 roll-call vote. Work is expected to proceed after contract finalization and coordination with grant requirements.